More than a reaction to Yoon’s autocratic and anti-feminist tendencies, the massive participation of women is the culmination of long-standing struggles for gender equality, and unmet demands for justice.

In the wake of Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed self-coup on December 3, South Korean citizens took to the streets to protect the country’s democracy, staging a massive protest led by women in their 20s and 30s. The participation of young female K-Pop fans in particular has drawn attention to women’s role in the peaceful protests, while images of Democratic Party spokeswoman Ahn Gwi-Ryeong defiantly grabbing a soldier’s rifle inspired worldwide admiration.

The strong political consciousness of South Korean women is far from a new phenomenon.

Women have historically been at the forefront of resistance and activism, from women-led labor organizing in the 1970s under the Park Chung-hee dictatorship, to the 2016 protests against his daughter, former President Park Geun-hye. Candlelight movements – a repeated form of peaceful protest in South Korea – originated in vigils held in memory of two middle school girls accidentally killed by a U.S. military vehicle in 2002, and gained prominence during the protests against U.S. beef import (largely led by teenage girls) in 2008 and again during the protests leading up to the impeachment of Park in 2016.

Yet women are also persistently sidelined in Korean politics, all while bearing the brunt of the country’s socio-economic woes.

Since the 1997 financial crisis, the rise of labor market inequality has disproportionately affected women, who are concentrated in irregular work and thus more likely to be excluded from labor protections and benefits. Recent data shows that women are paid on average 31 percent less than men in South Korea, in addition to being the primary targets of gender-based violence and online sex